Sheriff Joe Arpaio is shocked to learn he isn’t above the law

Arpaio doesn't understand that he's not supposed to receive special treatment.

A day after President Trump suggested during a rally in Arizona that he will pardon him, former Sheriff Joe Arpaio joined Trump’s favorite evening television show for an interview. During it, Arpaio unwittingly described how the rule is supposed to work while complaining about how he thinks he’s being treated unfairly for violating it.

Arpaio, a staunch Trump supporter who was recently convicted of criminal contempt of court for defying a judge’s order to stop racially profiling Latinos and other immigrants, told Sean Hannity that “if they can go after me, they can go after anyone in this country.”

The principle of equal standing under the law is, of course, enshrined in the United States Constitution.

Alluding to his pardon power, Trump said he’ll “make a prediction. I think he’ll be just fine. Okay? But, but I won’t do it tonight because I don’t want to cause any controversy, is that alright? But Sheriff Joe can feel good.”

While speaking with Hannity, Arpaio avoided talking about specifics of his case — he’s due to be sentenced on October 5 and faces up to six months in prison — but suggested the fact he’s spent his career in law enforcement and has never been in serious legal trouble previously means he’s somehow above the law.

“If they can do this to me — after 55 years in law enforcement, two parking tickets in my life — and I have to sit in the defense table over this contempt of court, so we’ll see what happens,” he said.

Hannity responded by suggesting that Arpaio’s conviction reflects how the justice department is biased against conservatives.

“And Hillary goes free. And the unmaskers go free, and those that leak intelligence go free and uranium one deal goes free, and you never hear about Ukranian interference in the election,” Hannity said. “We do have a dual justice system, sadly.”

Earlier Wednesday, Arpaio appeared on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show and thanked Jones for playing a pivotal role in getting Trump to consider a pardon for the former sheriff.

According to Media Matters, Jones claimed that Infowars Washington bureau chief Jerome Corsi played a key role in making Trump aware of Arpaio’s situation.

“It’s Dr. Corsi writing the articles, and it’s Matt Drudge picked him up, and the president saw it in Matt Drudge’s Twitter feed, and then said, ‘Is this true? I haven’t even heard of this on Fox.’ And he called [Sean] Hannity up, and said, ‘Why aren’t you covering this?’” Jones said.